A letter of restitution

Translated letter:

Elizabeth, by the grace of God queen to all the faithful of Christ who will look at the present writing greetings in the savior of all.  We wish to being to the notice of all present and future by the content of these, that we, having considered and inspected the deserving services and serving merits of our faithful  master Aladarius son of Csete. and desiring to bring to light his appreciated services, which from the first years of his boyhood he showed faithfully and devotedly to lord Béla our father-in-law and after to lord Stephen our consort, both beloved and of pious memory, formerly most serene kings of Hungary, and to their kingdom, submitting himself and his own things in various turns of fortune for us, for which he ought to be awarded by reginal magnificence greater and fuller things in reginal generosity, though what we do in the present seems minimal.  With regard to what we intend to do in the future, a certain land called Aryaicha in the county/ispánate of Pozsega, which Peter son of Chelleus held from royal donation and by his death without the comfort of an heir it devolved to our hands by the approved custom of our kingdom, which had been conferred on that master Alardarius first by our dearest mother-in-law lady Maria formerly most serene queen of Hungary who had the right of conferring and giving that land, with the permission and consent of said lord Béla, formerly king, and given because said master Aladarius had carried to him the first fruits of joys of the birth of our dearest son king Ladislaus and by lord Stephen, our dearest consort, it was revoked and transferred to the rule of different people, because there was a movement against that master Aladarius, [now] with the will and consent of our dearest son king Ladislaus and all the barons of the kingdom we have rendered and restored, indeed we give and confer on that master Aladarius and through him on his heirs and successors of theirs to be possessed by perpetual right and irrevocably in that custom and freedom by which the lands and possessions of other nobles of Pozsega like former ban Borych were possessed and under those bounded limits and circumstances by which they had first been limited, with this expressly noted that all instruments and charters/privileges or whatever protections over the donation, conferring and transfer of said land had flowed to Nicholas, son of Lawrence or any others among the inhabitants of our kingdom in whatever mode, contrivance, or order up to the date of the presents, be held broken and invalid, lack force and are voided; only the content of the present letters about our present donation and conferring to oftmentioned master Aladarius has vigor, force and strength.  Further we have granted and concede that if it should happen, let it not be so, that said master Aladarius be destitute of the comfort of an heir, he could have free and absolute ability to bequeath, give, alienate or dispose of said land to whomever he wished among the living or dead.  In memory and pepetual stability of which things we have granted the present letter strengthened by the protection of our double seal.  Dated by the hand of the venerable father Philip bishop of Vaciens our faithful chancellor of our court of Nógrád, in the thousand two hundred seventy third year of the lord.

Original letter:

[E]lisabeth dei gracia regina vniuersis Christi fidelibus presens scriptum inspecturis salutem in omnium saluatore.  Ad vniuersorum noticiam tam presencium quam futurorum harum serie volumus peruenire, quod nos consideratis et inspectis meritoriis obsequiis et obsequiosis meritis magistri Aladarii filii Chechy fidelis nostri et eiusdem obsequia grata in lucem reuocare cupientes, que a primeuis puericie sue annis domino B(ele) socero nostro et postmodum domino Stephano consorti nostro karissimis et pie memorie quondam serenissimis regibus Vngarie et regno fideliter exhibuit et deuote se et sua propter nos diuersis casibus fortune submittendo, pro quibus de reginali magnificencia maiora et ampliora in largicionibus reginalibus debuisse promereri, licet minima videantur que ad presens agimus.  Respectu eorum que facere intendimus eidem in futurum, quandam terram Aryaicha vocatam in comitatu de Pasagua sitam, quam Petrus filius Chelleus de donacione regia tenuit et possedit et per mortem ipsius sine heredis solacio decedentis ad manus nostras de approbata regni nostri consuetudine deuolutam, que ipsi magistro A(ladario) primo per socrum nostram karissimam dominam M(ariam) quondam serenissimam reginam Vngarie que ipsam terram conferendi et donandi ius habebat collata fuerat de permissione et consensu predicti domini B(ele) quondam regis et donata pro eo, quod primicias gaudiorum natiuitatis karissimi filii nostri regis Ladyzlay eidem detulerat magister Aladarius antedictus et per dominum Stephanum consortem nostrum karissimum eo, quod contra ipsum magistrum A(ladarium) motus extiterat reuocata et translata ad dominium diuersarum personarum, de uoluntate et consensu eiusdem karissimi filii nostri regis L(adizlai) et omnium baronum regni nostri reddidimus et restituimus, ymmo damus et conferrimus ipsi magistro A(ladario) et per eum suis heredibus heredumque successoribus iure perpetuo et irreuocabiliter possidendam in eadem consuetudine et libertate, quibus aliorum nobilium de Pasagua de genere quondam Borych bani terre et possessiones possidentur et sub eisdem metis limitibus et circumstanciis, quibus fuerant primitus limitata, hoc expressim annotato, quod omnia instrumenta et priuilegia uel quecunque munimenta que super donacione, collacione et translacione memorate terre Nicolao filio Laurencii uel aliis quibuscunque de incolis regni nostri quocunque modo ingenio uel ordine usque datam presencium emanassent, cassa et irrita habeantur et viribus careant et uitentur; solo presencium tenore litterarum circa presentem donacionem et collacionem nostram sepedicto magistro A(ladario) factas uigorem, robur et fortitudinem optinente.  Ceterum concessimus et concedimus, quod si dictum magistrum A(ladarium), quod absit, heredis solacio destitui contingat, dictam terram legandi, donandi, a se alienandi uel distrahendi cuicunque uoluerit inter viuos uel in morte liberam et absolutam habeat facultatem.  In cuius rey memoriam et perpetuam firmitatem presentes concessimus litteras dupplicis sigilli nostri munimine roboratas.  Datum per manu venerabilis patris Philippi episcopi Vachiensis aule nostre cancellarii comitis Neugradiensis fidelis nostri, anno domini Mo ducentesimo, septuagesimo tercio.

Historical context:

The queen awards land to one of her faithful servants, Alardarius, who had been given the land earlier by her mother-in-law, Maria, then lost it because of intrigues against him, and is now bring reinstated, voiding the claims of any others to the land.  Zsoldos, The Arpads, 109, says Aladarius was a small landowner from Fejér who joined the court of Elizabeth when she was the junior queen.

Printed source:

Codex diplomaticus regni Croatiae, Dalmatiae et Slavoniae, ed. T. Smiciklas (Zagreb, 1904-34) 6.54-55, #73.  

Date: